Aspects of the present invention relate to a sheet feed device employed for facsimile machines, copiers, printers, etc. for feeding sheets (e.g., paper, OHP sheets, labels, etc.), and in particular, to a sheet feed device in which each sheet supplied from a sheet supply tray changes its sheet feed direction approximately 180 degrees before being ejected to a sheet holding part.
Sheet feed devices for feeding sheets (e.g., paper, OHP sheets, labels, etc.) are widely employed for facsimile machines, copiers, printers, etc. In sheet feed devices in which each sheet supplied from a sheet supply tray changes its sheet feed direction approximately 180 degrees before being ejected to a sheet holding part, the sheet supply tray and the sheet holding part are generally separated from each other by a sheet feed cover. An example of such a configuration is disclosed in Japanese Patent Provisional Publication No. HEI 10-194552.
However, even in sheet feed devices having such a sheet feed cover for separating the sheet supply tray and the sheet holding part from each other, the separation is not perfect and there is a high probability that an upper part of a sheet set in the sheet supply tray will make contact with an upper part of a sheet held in the sheet holding part.
Therefore, when the sheet set in the sheet supply tray is fed to a position between a printing head and a platen, the upper part of a stack of sheets held in the sheet holding part can be pulled downward together with the sheet in the sheet supply tray (due to friction between the contacting parts of the sheets) and the stack of sheets held in the sheet holding part can curve downward to cover a sheet ejecting part and flop toward an operation panel.
It is possible to resolve the problem by sufficiently enlarging the sheet feed cover and perfectly separating the sheets set in the sheet supply tray from the sheets held in the sheet holding part. However, such an approach causes an increase in the size of the sheet feed device and the facsimile machine, etc.